Saturday, September 5 – 4:00 PM
God’s Blessing for Good Health for Mary – Family

Sunday, September 6 – 8:30AM
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
God’s Blessing and Good Health for all parishioners.
Divine Liturgies are available for your intentions. Please use the envelopes in the vestibule or call Father for your request.
Why God Allows Pain This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen. It’s an explanation other people will understand. A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: ”I don’t believe that God exists.” ”Why do you say that?” asked the customer. ”Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things.” The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.” ”How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you” ”No” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.” ”Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is that people do not come to me.” ”Exactly!”- Affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens is that people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.” BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING

THE BLACK DOT
One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin. The professor handed out the exam with the text facing down, as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked the students to turn over the paper. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions – just a black dot in the center of the sheet of paper. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following:
“I want you to write about what you see there.” The students confused, got started on the inexplicable task. At the end of the class, the professor took all the exams, and started reading each one of them out loud, in front of all the students. All of them with no exception defined the black dot, trying to explain its position in the center of the sheet.
After all the papers had been read, the classroom silent, the professor started to explain.
“I’m not going to grade you on this; I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot – and the same happens in our lives. We have a white piece of paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see every day…However, we insist on focusing only on the dark spot – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend.
The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they’re the ones that pollute our mind. Take your eyes away from the black dot in your life. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with love.
SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn this week August 29 – September 5 by Arlene Jones for God’s blessings for good health for her sister-in-law Virginia.

RUMMAGE SALE: The annual Rummage Sale Sponsored by Women’s Society will be held sometime in October. Bring your items to the church on Sat. or Sun. or at the hall on Monday’s. Any items you may have to donate to the sale will be greatly appreciated as long as they are in good condition and the clothing only 3 years old will be accepted.

CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING: The monthly meeting of the Church Council will be held on Thursday, Sept. 3rd in the Church Hall at 6:30 PM. All members are urged to attend this meeting.